And so the barber man said, when asked, if he wanted a rack in his shop..." I love the Lord, but where do I find room for the Lord?"
Good morning! Skies are cloudy and rain is possibly coming!! It sounds like umbrellas will be needed this evening.... maybe...we have Tribeca service, so best be prepared!
The quote I chose for this week's letter 💌
" I love it when God interrupts my thoughts and reminds me the battle is His, not mine. "
Tuesday, July 8... Our morning off, but was somewhat a little more encumbered, with the affairs of the day.... because Elmer and Mary Ellen were coming for supper and David's orientation! We did go to Lincoln to sing, Jordan and Spencer had train troubles, so got there late. Alex, David, Ron and I got started and sang quartet for a bit. Kind of a " dead" day, really no pun intended.... some patients were non- verbal...so we trust somehow that God did His work and we were his messengers! Elmers got here around 5, soon the guys and men all went down stairs to the social hall to have the orientation. ( Rogers couldn't join us this time, their children, Jed and Kathryn and 2 littles were here for afternoon, supper and night. ) Mary Ellen and I kept a continued dialogue going upstairs in our apartment and we talked and talked! Was so much fun!! 😊 Supper was grilled and smoked pork tenderloins, cornflake potatoe casserole, green salad and butter horns. Mary Ellen brought a angel food cake, made butter sauce here and brought along fresh blueberries!!!! All too soon, Elmers thought they needed to be heading back....it thundered and rained some in the evening! Good old thunder, good old Kansas!!! 😀We did some singing in the evening yet, practicing for sing-out out.
David had his appointment for his medical clearance at Lincoln on Tuesday....they draw vials of blood, seems a little ridiculous for a volunteer status, but neither did I need to go down that bunny trail. Anyway when he got home, he all of a sudden says, " I took a little nap there in the chair" we all looked at him and he said, I fainted!! While drawing blood....he woke up to see the nurses all looking at him!!! 🥺
Annoying things happen in the city all the time, BUT this time....it was for about 11 hours and it got mighty trying!! A car alarm went off, on a car right in front of our apartment and it made noise, from around 11 am to 10pm!!!!! One gets very tired of a variety of bells and whistles.... finally NYPD came and disarmed the car....and we think the driver got a ticket! Our boys opened the window and hollered out....Thank- you and a police man hollered up, you are welcome! Silence was golden, although in this city that never sleeps, it is never quiet!!!
Wednesday, July 9... Normal work and Bible study in the evening. Spencer chose a lesson on Unity and we were joined by Eric Pobee and DeDe. Discussion was interesting! Never know how the discussion will go! Sing- out...then visiting followed. Back in our apartment, we then dined on baked sausage and Mac and cheese.
Thursday, July 10... It was shopping day for us! We walked to the bus, as the rain lightly fell on us, no umbrellas.... once off the bus, then walked to BTM. Good shopping, went well and then back home! Tackled my dirty oven after lunch! Just 5 of us home...Ron grilled hamburgers and I added baked beans and tapioca salad! Alex did sit down and eat a half hamburger and some salad, before heading to the airport to get his cousin and his wife from the airport. Josh and Lexi Isaac....from Homeland. They ate supper at Jackson Hole and then came on home. Soon they headed back to La Guardia.... another cousin Seth and Sharrena Isaac. Seth and Josh are brothers. We sat up and waited on them and we seen 1:15, when we closed our eyes and slid underneath the sheets. Seth's are also from Homeland, fine young couples, we enjoyed them much!
Friday, July 11... after what seemed like a nap for a night, up and at it. Fixed pancakes, sausage and scrambled eggs for 10. Alex, Seth's and Josh's left for the day and the other 3 to the common pantry. Ron and I did laundry, house cleaning and he mowed the postage stamp size of a backyard lawn . It was Alex's turn for outside chores and they get a break from chores, when they have company! ( I wonder who does ours, when we have company??!! Lol!!!! 😉) After supper on Friday evening, Ron and I walked to Riverbank park and watched the sun set and basically just decompressed!!! An oasis in the city!
Saturday, July 12.... Slept in a bit....then easy breakfast for 10 of us again.... fruit smoothies, toast and cold cereal!!! Alex and his cousins left for Mifflinburg for a wedding! Israel Wengerds daughter Anne to Vaughn Smith from Homeland. Our other 3 guys left and sounded like they just had a relaxing day out in the city. They were to Fort Tryon in the morning and said it was really pretty! Ron and I had a busy day of cooking, some cleaning, a little laundry etc. so we were home all day until the evening. We got on a D train and went to meet the boys for supper! The train just poked along, construction to hob nob our way through.... Jordan picked a restaurant called Causal Greek for supper! In Manhattan...I was impressed, restaurant wasn't so dark and crowded, nice light decor and good eating! They brought out warm pita bread with some kind of olive mixture, that was very good! Ron and I shared a skirt steak, with roasted potatoes and asparagus. ( although Ron ate all the asparagus!!) After supper we quickly walked down to 42nd street and viewed Manhattanhenge!! It is when the sinking sun perfectly lines up with the east/ west streets!! Pretty awesome! We missed the ball of the sun...but still seen the color!! From there....ahem....we caught some trains and headed to Martha's bakery! After all, David hadn't been there yet!!! 😂 Ordered our cheesecake or pastries and drinks and had a good time there yet! Ron and I came on home after that, and we had a little work to do yet. ( It was Thomas and Kaci's wedding weekend, so our thoughts often turned to Rich Hill.... Andrew was so thoughtful and recorded the song that Thomas, Jesse, Trevor and Dexter were practicing!! For the Saturday evening program! We listened and almost cried....we would have loved to have been there!!!!!!!!!! Dede from the city also flew there to attend the wedding! I'm so glad that LaNae, Laura and Dawn met her and visited with her! Made my heart happy....LaNae and Laura also met " our boys"!!! )
Sunday, July 13... Again, our hearts were with Thomas and Kaci... but we did enjoy our Sunday also!!! Thankfully someday when we have some time we can listen to Thomas's wedding....5 for breakfast, 12 for some of church and 15 for rest of church and lunch. Peter, Tony, Sonja, Ellen and her 2 grown children from England were with her.... Nick and Ellen Jr. David brought the opening and Clay the sermon. So now back to the opening lines to my letter. Ckay got his inspiration from this visit with the barber, about where to find room for the Lord in his life? Our priorities, really just taking the time to listen to God....he mentioned #136 in Gospel Hymns....and so we sang that for closing and it seemed God drew real close and near to us 15 souls at Sugar Hill mission! Lunch was a jolly affair... Ellen and her 2 children had us all laughing!!! I fixed Fiesta lime chicken, with Frito Lay corn chips and cheese. Elsie the Mexican rice and Dana brought watermelon and grapes. I also fixed a coconut cream pudding dessert. Clay's and our 3 spent some of the afternoon down in Brooklyn. Ron and I chose to stay home and relax and get supper on. Alex Josh and Lexi came home from PA and soon left again....get some supper and go to One World. We made BBQ pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw, chips and carrots and pickles.... leftover dessert from lunch.
So that's another week from 762 St Nicholas Ave....we live, we laugh, we love!! We sometimes are tired and weary, we get a tad grumpy, and a little sleep usually is the cure for that one!! 😜 Life is real, wherever you live....but we love it here and NYC is home!! Thomas, Jesse, Trevor, Dexter, Wade, Jordan, Alex, Spencer and David are " our " boys as well and we love them all! Lots of good times and precious memories!!
Love and prayers.....Mama Carol